1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to floor drains and, more particularly, to a floor drain body support pan or plate, a drain support plate assembly which includes the drain support plate adjustably attached to a receptacle body of the drain, and to a method for installing the drain body support pan assembly into a floor structure.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Presently, floor drains are installed utilizing a drain receptacle body that receives a clamp collar, which, in turn, receives either a dome or frame, or receives a frame which also serves as a clamp collar for receipt of a grate. Such prior art floor drain arrangements are manufactured, for example, by Zurn Industries, Inc. in Erie, Pa.
FIGS. 1 and 2 illustrate a typical floor drain 10 of the prior art that includes a receptacle body 12. The receptacle body 12 has a first end 14 and a pipe receiving second end 16, which defines a body cavity 20. The first end 14 of the receptacle body 12 includes an annular flange 22 extending away from the body cavity 20 of the receptacle body 12. A plurality of spaced apart protrusions 24, preferably four (two are shown and two on an opposite side are not shown in FIGS. 1 and 2), is defined adjacent the first end 14 of the receptacle body 12 underneath the annular flange 22. Protrusions 24 extend in a direction away from the cavity 20 of the receptacle body 12. Each protrusion 24 defines a passageway 26 which may be internally threaded and adapted to receive a fastener F shown in phantom in FIG. 1. The second end 16 of the receptacle body 12 is adapted to fasten to a drain pipe P shown in phantom in FIG. 2.
FIGS. 1 and 2 also show a prior art method of installing the prior art floor drain 10 in a floor structure. First, a bore is cut in a block S, preferably made of Styrofoam and the second end 16 of the receptacle body 12 is placed within the bore of the block S (shown in FIG. 1). The block S is then placed on a wooden board B, such as plywood, and a wire W is wrapped around the receptacle body 12 and secured to the board B via a nail N, as shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIG. 2, concrete C is then poured around the receptacle body 12 and the block S and allowed to set. The board B is then removed from underneath the floor structure and the block S is chiseled away from the concrete C, thereby creating a void V between the concrete C and the second end 16 of the receptacle body 12. The wire W is left embedded in the concrete C and any protruding wires W or nails N are trimmed.
One drawback to the prior art method of installing the prior art floor drain 10 is that distance or height H (shown in FIG. 1) between the first end 14 of the receptacle body 12 and the board B cannot be adjusted without either cutting the block S or replacing the block S with a smaller or larger block depending on the desired height H. Another drawback to the prior art method is that the installation time of the floor drain 10 of the prior art is increased since the block S has to be chiseled away for removal from the embedded concrete C.
Therefore, it is an object of the present invention to overcome the above-mentioned drawbacks by providing an adjustable floor drain arrangement that is easy to install.
FIGS. 3-7 also pertain to a drain floor support pan or plate 30 and a drain support plate assembly of the prior art of pending U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/012,894, filed Dec. 15, 2004. However, a detailed discussion of these FIGS. 3-7 will be given in describing the invention since the present invention is easily adaptable in the environment of the invention of the U.S. patent application Ser. No. 11/012,894 ('894).
One drawback to the prior art of the '894 patent application is that since the pan 30 has concentric score lines 56, which are punched out to accommodate the diameter of the drain pipe, the drain pan 30 can not be interchangeably used in a floor drain for accommodating either a rectangular profile, e.g., a receptacle body or a circular profile, e.g., a drain pipe.
Therefore, it is a further object of the present invention to overcome the above drawback of the '894 patent by providing a drain body support pan and assembly which can be interchangeably used to accommodate varying shaped and sized profiles such as a rectangular receptacle body or a circular drain pipe.